16 guns seized most Hartford has confiscated in years
Hartford — The confiscation of 16 weapons this past week — including ghost guns and one set up to fire like a machine gun — is believed to be the city’s biggest bust in recent history, Lt. Aaron Boisvert said Friday.
Police also seized a massive amount of illegal drugs at the crack of dawn Wednesday, including 6,000 bags of fentanyl and more than 2 pounds of cocaine, they said. In addition to local police, state and federal agencies were involved in the raids, which led to five Hartford arrests and one federal apprehension, according to Boisvert and U.S. Attorney spokesman Thomas Carson.
Six people were arrested as officers and agents served 11 search warrants at different locations in the city, police said. The city police force arrests took place on Main, Elmer and Wooster streets, all in the northern half of Hartford. The investigation focused on suspected drug dealers in the SANA (SANDS) apartment complex on Main Street, Boisvert said.
The 16 seized guns included five untraceable ghost guns, three handguns with switches that make them fully automatic and a high-capacity handgun capable of firing 25 rounds, police said — all of which are illegal in Connecticut.
They said they also found 6,363 bags of fentanyl and enough unpackaged fentanyl to fill an additional 5,600 bags, plus 1 kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of cocaine, and 119 grams, or 4 ounces, of crack cocaine.
In addition, police said they seized cash and two vehicles.
According to Boisvert, the investigation that led to the arrests started at the beginning of the year with the Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division. Other divisions, such as the Violent Crimes Unit; C4 Division, or the Capital City Command Center; the Street Crimes Unit and the North Community Service Officers, joined the investigation.
State and federal agencies also got involved. They are the Connecticut State Police Narcotics Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI, he said.
According to Boisvert, all of those arrested are from Hartford.
Federal agents apprehended Johnny Milner, 45, of Hartford, Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. The federal investigation that led to Milner’s arrest is connected with the one that began with city police, Carson said.
Law enforcement was alerted by “various sources” that Milner was distributing fentanyl to street-level narcotics dealers at SANA. Tipsters also indicated that Milner stored and distributed narcotics at locations on Prospect Avenue and Bellevue Street, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Lamel Brooks, 34, of Wooster Street, was charged with 12 counts of criminal possession of a firearm; five counts of possession of a ghost gun; three counts of possession of a machine gun and one count of possession of a high-capacity magazine.
He also was charged with two counts of theft of a firearm and one count each of possession of an assault weapon, possession of narcotics and possession of narcotics with intent to sell.
Omar Vazquez-Garcia, 30, of Elmer Street, was charged with possession of over 1 kilogram of narcotics, possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell and interfering with a search warrant, Boisvert said.
Samuel Garcia, 37, of Elmer Street, was charged with interfering with a search warrant and possession of a high-capacity magazine.
Wali Brooks, of Main Street, who turns 36 on Monday, was charged with two counts of possession of narcotics, possession with intent to sell and two counts of operating a drug factory.
And Juwan Gratic, 24, of Seyms Street, was charged with possession of narcotics and possession with intent to sell.
The 16 seized guns included five untraceable ghost guns, three handguns with switches that make them fully automatic and a high-capacity handgun capable of firing 25 rounds, police said — all of which are illegal in Connecticut.